Suunto A10 Compass

I’ve owned the same Suunto A10 Compass for years and can recommend it highly for 3 season hiking. The markings on mine are a little worn, as you can see, but it has all of the key attributes you need for following a bearing or orienteering with a map.

The housing has a liquid filled case to dampen the jerkiness of the needle, with a surrounding bezel dial broken out into 2 degree increments. The transparent baseplate has a number of different rulers on it, including inches, centimeters, and a 1:24,000 scale that is standard on US Geological Survey (USGS) maps (also called quads).

There’s a lanyard hole at the back of the compass that you can run a lanyard through if you like to wear your compass around your neck. I don’t use this myself, as I keep my compass in a backpack hip belt pocket, in easy reach.

At $14.95 and weighing just 27 grams, this compass has been one of the longest lasting backpacking gear investments I’ve ever made. It’s great when you can buy gear like this that lasts and lasts, despite an enormous about of use.

Disclosure: The author owns this product and purchased it using their own funds.

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I got one from Brunton last winter, mainly for the clinometer (avalanche slope prdiction), but I like the fact that you can set a bearing, close the mirror, and reopen it without losing the bezel setting.